Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

the courtyard into a sea of mud. It dripped through the many cracks in the thatched stable roof, and pattered noisily on the straw-covered floor. The stable creaked and groaned as the rain hit it, and Julia stared out of the open stable door and sighed again, perhaps in sympathy. Behind her, the dragon stirred.
    'You should be in your room, resting,' he said sternly.
    Julia smiled, but didn't look round. 'I'm all right. A few more interesting scars to add to my collection, that's all. The Seneschal took the worst of it; I don't know how he stayed on his feet long enough to get us out of the South Wing. The surgeon took one look at him and ordered him to his bed, but he wouldn't go until he'd spoken to the King. Bodeen and I were all that was holding him up, but he wouldn't give in.
    He's a tough old bird, that Seneschal. Didn't pass out until he'd told the King everything he knew and suspected about the Armoury breakin. Bodeen and I carried him back to his rooms. He's sleeping now.
    Tough old bird.'
    'You should get some rest yourself,' said the dragon. 'I can smell the pain and tiredness in you.'
    'I couldn't sleep,' said Julia. 'Not yet. I need to talk to someone.'
    'What is it this time?' said the dragon gently. 'Someone threatening to make you take etiquette lessons again?'
    'Hardly. I've been excused lessons since all my tutors refused to enter the same room as me unless they were granted an armed escort first.'
    'What is it, then? What's troubling you?'
    'I don't know.' Julia turned away from the stable door, and moved over to sit down beside the dragon.
    The thick layer of straw softened the earth floor as she leaned back against his huge, comforting side. The falling rain became a pleasant background murmur, and the constant drip of water from the thatch was strangely soothing. The scent of freshly scattered hay hung heavily on the air, rich and earthy, and the dragon could feel Julia's muscles slowly relaxing.
    'Dragon,' she said finally, 'what happened to the horses that used to live here?'
    'Delicious,' said the dragon solemnly.
    Julia elbowed him sharply in the side, and he grunted obligingly, though she doubted he actually felt it.
    'You didn't really eat all those lovely horses, did you?'
    'No, Julia, I moved in and they moved out. At a gallop, as I recall.'
    Julia laughed, and snuggled back against his smooth scales. Sometimes it seemed the dragon was the only friend she had left in the world, an island of calm in an ocean of storms. After Rupert had left, the dragon had wandered aimlessly round the Castle, sleeping where he felt like it, and eating anything that didn't either run away or actively fight back. Eventually he'd settled down in one of the old stables, and
    showed every sign of staying there as long as someone brought him his meals regularly. The Castle staff quickly volunteered to take care of that, and heaved a collective sigh of relief. Between the dragon's appetite and Julia's sudden rages, they'd never done so much running and dodging in their lives.
    'How are you feeling?' Julia asked the dragon, and he shrugged slightly.
    'Better, I suppose. Casting the spell to summon the Rainbow Run took a lot out of me. Then the demons, swarming over me, tearing at me with their fangs and claws. And finally I had to breathe fire, and that hurt me, Julia, hurt me deep down inside. By the time Rupert called down the Rainbow I was dying, and it seems there's a limit to how much even the Wild Magic can do. It saved my life, but only time can heal me. I'm going to have to hibernate soon, and sleep until I'm healed. If I can still heal. Magic is going out of the world, and magical creatures like myself are having a harder time of it.' The dragon smiled sadly. 'Or perhaps I'm just getting old, even for a dragon. I haven't seen or heard of another of my kind in over three hundred years. Perhaps I'm the last. The last dragon in the world of men.'
    'Three hundred years,' said Julia slowly. 'Didn't you ever get lonely!'
    'As a rule, dragons aren't particularly gregarious. We each have our territories and our hoards, and we guard them jealously. But, yes, there have been times this last century when I would have welcomed the sight of another of my kind. It's been so long since I soared on the night winds with my brethren ... so very long.'
    'When all this is over, we'll go and look for some more dragons,' said Julia.
    'Yes,' said the dragon kindly. 'When all this is over.'
    Julia stared up at the thatch